The Truce Has Ended
by solitaryrain
Summary: The creatures are real and the truce, for the time being, has ended between the village and the woods. Mild Lucius/Ivy. Re-formatted. Update: Due to several RL issues I will very likely be unable to update before Christmas, but I'll try my best.
1. Chapter 1

In the cool, crisp air of an autumn twilight, Lucius Hunt pulled his mustard yellow cloak closer to his frame. His destination, was the Walker home, but first he felt compelled to survey the border.

The leaves on the trees were turning color. Cool greens were starting to shift to vibrant yellows, oranges, and...he paused, squinting to examine a tree along the border. The leaves were red. Another one to be burned, he thought.

Through the years, the Elders had vigilantly destroyed all trees with red leaves, cutting them down and stripping the branches. The children, many of them too young to realize the significance and others too excited to care, danced happily around the quick, furtive bonfires that were lit and helped to toss in the leaves. Noah Percy had laughed, as always, the shrill sound heightening the tension.

Ivy had simply stood there among the children, listening to the crackle of the leaves as they burned, a sorrowful expression on her face...

Lucius quickly snapped out of his thoughts when a leaf fell on his face. He noticed the yellow paint on the trees was fading and made a mental note to ask Finton and Christop if they could help him repaint. Quickly, almost reluctantly, he glanced into the woods and did a harsh double-take when he thought he saw two dark black eyes glinting out of the already dark black forest. He relaxed, but only slightly, when he searched for them a second time and they did not appear. The constant sound of crackling noises echoing through the forest did nothing to calm his nerves.

It was dark by the time he reached the Walker home. He had promised his mother he would stay with Kitty (who he knew would simply huff and say she was far past the age for a chaperon) Ivy, Noah, and the younger children until the Elders had finished an impromptu meeting. Several children had heard strange moans resounding through the forest, and the Elders could only think that Those-We-Do-Not-Speak-Of were preparing to attack.

Lucius quietly knocked on the door, still too much on edge to create a loud noise. He could not get over the feeling of those black eyes boring into his, even if it had all been farce.

Kitty greeted him with a very strained expression on her face. "Noah has been having fits." Her voice was tight and brittle from strain. Lucius nodded and entered the Walker home, glancing over at Ivy with her fiery red hair before turning away.

"Hello, Ivy Walker", he mumbled, and he thought he could hear a muted return greeting.

He turned to examine her closely, knowing that he could do so with a reasonable amount of comfort. After all, she could not He noted that her face looked worn out, though he imagined it was more to do with Noah's fits than any particular worry.

Ivy had quieted Noah to a state where he was simply fidgeting next to her instead of racing about the house like the children. He looked on jealously as the children laughed at each other, but he continued to sit compliantly next to Ivy.

As time wore on, Lucius began to wonder if the Elder's meeting would ever end. He checked his thoughts. No, he didn't want the meeting to end. It was calm, here, if a bit stilted, with no one pressing him to talk. Ivy made the occasional comments but did not seem to expect an answer.

Lucius slowly felt his eyes grow heavy, and he grimaced, mentally shaking himself for being less than vigilant in his duty. Kitty, to his embarrassment, had caught the grimace as it passed over his face and approached him.

"Lucius Hunt, are you feeling well?" Concern was evident in her voice, yet her tone was distant.

Lucius nodded, not looking up. "I am tired, Kitty, that is all." He felt awkward being around her ever since he had denied her request for marriage. His embarrassment had only been increased when Ivy informed him that Kitty had been devastated.

Kitty nodded, though not at all convinced, and left him, shepherding the children up to bed. Suddenly he felt another presence by his side.

"Lucius Hunt." Ivy's voice was quiet but strong. "If you are not feeling well, you should not hide it. That is how Daniel Nicholson died, you know, and I would not wish you to die."

He looked up into the face of Ivy Walker and smiled slightly. "I promise you, the wish for sleep is the only thing that plagues me this night. If there was anything else, I would let you know." He wasn't sure he was telling the truth.

His answer seemed to satisfy Ivy, who went back over to Noah and, within a few minutes, had fallen asleep. Noah, by now, was fast asleep and snoring softly. Lucius, going against his usual self-inflicted standards, soon followed their example.

Several hours later, they were slowly brought to wakefulness by the gentle sound of the door opening. The meeting was over; Mr. Walker was home.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Lucius went to work. He was fond of his profession, and the isolation he felt when he closed the door on the world helped to keep the communal tension at bay.

Repeating his moments from last night, he walked along the border, he steps slow and halting. A haunting, unearthly noise came from the woods, and, once again, he stopped. He reluctantly lifted his head to meet the gaze of the creature who had emitted such a noise. It paused and looked at him, baring its teeth while emitting another strange noise. Slowly, slowly he turned around, his steps fluid and quick as he walked to the smithy. He realized, suddenly, that he was shaking.

When he reached the smithy, he found Ivy waiting impatiently outside the door. Seeming to recognize his footsteps, or simply jumping to the conclusion that it MUST be Lucius as it was his business, she turned around.

"Lucius Hunt, where HAVE you been? I was worried." A sharp note was in her voice.

He let out a deep, shaking breath, pleased for once to have someone to talk to.

"I..." he began, but Ivy quickly cut him off. "Never mind, Lucius Hunt. I am here only to inform you that my father has requested your presence at a meeting."

He stared blankly into her equally blank face. "There is to be another meeting?"

She nodded slowly. "Yes, Lucius Hunt, another one."

She lowered her voice, even though no one was around. "Those-We-Don't-Speak-Of have been making threatening advances. The last time we had an attack, he said all the livestock was killed and someone was seriously injured. Papa doesn't want that to happen again."

He took a deep breath and looked down at the ground before he spoke. "I have seen one of them. Perhaps two; I cannot be sure. They are growing confident and coming closer to the borders than they have in recent years. Be cautious. Do not linger at any location if you are unchaperoned, and stay away from the Resting Rock."

Once again, he looked at her face, suppressing a smile as he watched her struggling with the urge to resist his help. She finally gave a small nod and walked away, the wind caressing and tangling her hair as she disappeared between two houses.

With a sigh, he turned away from his smithy and headed to Resting Rock, determined to be there when she inevitably showed up.


	3. Chapter 3

The wind grew fierce as he neared Resting Rock, and he shivered. A dark, crumpled mass lying near the border of the forest attracted his attention. When he reached the lump, he started. It was a body.

He bent down, cautiously reaching out touch the body. Suddenly, the head lolled to one side and he recognized the face. It was Finton. Claw marks disfigured his right cheek, and, upon closer inspection, his right shoulder, too. Lucius could feel the blood draining from his face. This could have been Ivy. He struggled for a minute deciding whether to leave Finton or carry him while he went to get help. The decision to leave him was reached only when he thought he might be swifter without Finton's weight. As he raced back to the village, he hoped beyond hope that Ivy would listen to his instructions and stay away.

As he ran, he noticed several of the small livestock herds had been raided, many of them lying on the ground, slaughtered. His insides twisted, thinking of Finton, and quickly ran to the guard tower. There was no one there.

Finton must've been changing shifts with someone, he thought. That was why the warning bell hadn't been rung. There was no one there.

Repeating that thought over and over in his mind, he ran, almost without thinking, to the Walker residence. He saw Christop stepping through the door and quickly stopped running.

"Christop," he gasped, out of breath, "go as quickly as you can to the guard tower. Finton was attacked and the post was left open. Please, go!"

Christop, shocked by the combination of hearing Lucius Hunt speak and the idea that the creatures had attacked a friend, could only nod at Lucius and run quickly towards the border.

Lucius stepped up to the door of the Walker home, rapping sharply on the door. No one was home. Of course, he thought, Mr. Walker was teaching, and Mrs. Walker must be doing the washing. He ran towards the schoolhouse.

"Lucius Hunt, what a surprise to see you." Mr. Walker said, both amused and a bit concerned as Lucius stepped through the doorway. Lucius flushed as he noticed all the children staring wide-eyed at his now blood-stained shirt.

"Mr. Walker," he said, stuttering a bit in his embarrassment and with the realization that he would have to speak with no paper to guide him, "I need to speak with you. It's quite urgent."

Mr. Walker nodded and gave the children several pages to work on in his absence. They walked out together, pausing only when they were out of the hearing range of several curious children.

"Mr. Walker, it's Finton. He's in terrible danger. He's out at Resting Rock with severe wounds to his neck, shoulder, and most likely, his chest. The creatures attacked him when he was waiting for someone to relieve his post at the guard tower."

Mr. Walker's eyes widened at this extremely unwelcome and highly unpleasant news.

"I shall go get Victor and Robert to help me carry him back, and I will have Victor bandage his wounds. Thank you, Lucius Hunt, for telling me this. Conceal everything you can from the children and the people of this village until Finton is brought back."

Mr. Walker looked down at Lucius' blood-stained shirt with a strangely amused look on his face. "I suggest you cover your shirt with your coat for starters."

Lucius flushed again and buttoned his coat before nodding to the children and leaving. Oh dear, he thought, whatever am I going to tell Mother about my shirt?


	4. Chapter 4

Several hours later, Finton had been bandaged up, Lucius' shirt had been sent to be washed [with a lecture from his mother about just how hard blood-stains were to get out; that was just her way of being worried about him, he supposed], and another meeting had been scheduled.

Lucius, while never one to insult the Elders, felt that they were wasting time by simply talking. He sighed softly and gathered a piece of paper and a pencil, trying to decide how to write exactly what he saw. It's not quite fair that they call me a half-mute, he thought. Words come easily to my head, I simply…do not always wish to speak.

In all reality, there were only three people he didn't mind [or had no choice] talking with. Those were his mother [he had no choice with her], Mr. Walker, and, though he didn't want to admit it to himself, Ivy. When she lost her sight, he began to speak with her to keep her company (and, he admitted, so she wouldn't have to guess whether he was nodding yes or no) Now it just came naturally to talk to her. Well, perhaps not naturally, but he didn't mind as much as he would with, say, Christop.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and went back to writing. Several moments later, he heard the all-too-familiar sound of a cane tapping the ground. He slowly looked up and smiled at Ivy, but the smile died when he noticed her expression.

She started to speak, hesitated, and started again. "Lucius Hunt, I've come to tell you something. I must admit that I felt like going to Resting Rock just to spite you, though to my credit I felt that urge for but a moment. I realized the wisdom of your words and refrained from doing so, and now, it seems, that by those words..." she paused, an odd thing for her to do while talking, and both lowered and softened her voice, leaning forward to whisper "you saved my life. Thus I feel I should thank you, and I do. This is not the first time you have helped me, Lucius, and I feel it will not be the last."

She straightened up and smiled. Lucius nodded and said, very softly, "You're welcome, Ivy Walker."

Ivy, feeling rather over-whelmed, tipped her head in recognition of his words, and walked off, her cane perhaps tapping livelier than before. Lucius smiled and turned back to his paper, writing with a hitherto unknown fervor.


	5. Chapter 5

"Lucius Hunt, rise a witness and tell us of your encounters with Those-We-Don't-Speak-Of." The clear, articulate voice rang through the meeting house and Lucius winced.

Lucius decided that Mr. Walker could be quite intimidating. Lucius stood up and unfolded his paper with shaking hands. He spoke of his first encounter and the feeling that he was being watched, the feeling of looking into the eyes of the creature, and the feeling of hostility he derived from the creature's mannerisms.

He spoke of the second time; of hearing the moan and watching it walk slowly past him. Lastly, he spoke of finding Finton and the exact location of where he lay. He finished with a soft "the end". He always said it because it was a good, solid ending to his statements, and good, solid endings were exactly the types of endings he liked.

There was a murmur from the audience after his speech, and a young child asked, very nervously, "What do their faces look like?"

Lucius, faced with the problem of answering a question he had not been prepared to answer via paper, paused for a moment before forcing out the words "I...cannot explain in words, for their faces are...very unique". He spoke truthfully, for the glimpses he had caught of their faces revealed only that they were long, brown, and housed vicious teeth. The eyes were the only feature that disturbed him, seeing all yet reflecting nothing in the black orbs.

Mr. Walker turned to the audience and said the words they all feared the most.

"They were warning us, I think, and letting us know they no longer fear our defences. Finton will, hopefully, be their first and last target. However, he may not be the last; therefore, we must prepare for the worst. Only those who are guarding the border may go anywhere near the woods, and even then they must no go alone."

At this, Lucius truly began to feel as if something terrible was going to happen. Mr. Walker usually discouraged double guard-duty, and Lucius was breaking many rules when he went to help Finton at night.

"Secondly, do not stray with your duties, day or night, and stay in groups if you can. Do not let your children wander. Keep close watch upon them and their doings, and send them in before dusk."

There was a murmur from the mothers in the crowd, as well as a collective sound of disappointment from the children, especially the smaller boys. Lucius stole a glance over at Ivy, who seemed both worried at the news and amused by the children's disappointment. Noah was next to her, giggling as quietly as he could, and bouncing up and down in his seat. Mrs. Percy hushed him and Ivy clasped his hand to keep him still.

Lucius turned back to Mr. Walker and gave a start when he realized that Mr. Walker was looking at him, a serious look on his face. "Lucius, I want you to be exceptionally careful. They have seen you, and if they ever attack, they will no doubt be looking for you."

Lucius nodded and turned away, not noticing the look of concern on Ivy's face.


	6. Chapter 6

Several hours later, Lucius was vigilantly keeping watch from the corner window in his kitchen. He was just considering going to sleep when he heard the ominous toll of the warning bell. For a fleeting second he was almost surprised. The creatures never attacked so soon after a warning.

'Ivy could be in danger,' a voice whispered in his head, 'a very great danger. He rushed out the door, not even bothering to get a coat to shield him against the chill of the night air.

On the way to the Walker home, he paused to help his neighbors, watching them tuck their children into the cellars before locking the doors behind them.

Muffled scraping noises resounded through the village as he rushed to the Walker home. His mind was now singularly devoted to the idea of protecting Ivy, and he never considered his personal safety. He blanched when he saw her standing in the doorway, arm outstretched and the lights blazing behind her. Doesn't she know she's attracting them?, he thinks.

A warning cry died on his lips as he saw one of Them coming towards the doorway. _Can I out-run them?,_ he wondered. _Yes, don't think, just go._ He began to run. He ran and ran until he was there, in the doorway, grasping her hand. A small, relieved sob escaped Ivy's lips, and he set his jaw. I'm here, he thinks, you're safe. They ran in together, and he paused only long enough to bolt them door behind them. He lead her down through the trap door, her hand still clamped within his. He barely noticed he was shaking.

The creature screamed shrilly and carefully started breaking through the door. When it enters the house, everyone, even Noah, collectively holds their breath. _We are fortunate to have such a cellar door_, Lucius thinks. _Not everyone's door is iron._

A piercing shriek issued from the floor above them as the creature clawed at the door. Lucius' grip tightened on Ivy's hand, and the children's muted whimpering made him uneasy. At last, the creature retreated, its claws unable to shatter iron as easily as wood. The sounds of it retreating caused everyone to relax ever-so-slightly, but they dared not think what they would find upstairs.

They stayed in the cellar for another hour, too frightened to go upstairs in case the creatures decided to come back. Finally, Noah grew impatient and started to ask why they weren't going upstairs. Lucius rose and turned to help Ivy, who had put a finger to her lips to encourage Noah into silence. She accepted his other hand, and he gently pulled her to her feet.

While ascending the stairway, he heard footsteps above him. The door flew open with surprising speed and Lucius shrank back, expecting a creature to greet him. To his relief, and everyone else's, it was Mr. Walker. He looked pale and shaken, and blood dripped from a wound in his forehead, but he was alive.

"Mr. Walker, sir, you're bleeding." It was a foolish comment, and his voice sounded hollow, but Lucius felt he needed to speak.

"Never mind about me, Lucius, I hit my head. I see you're with Ivy and Noah, thank heaven, but where are Kitty and the children?" The aforementioned ground emerged from the shadows, and Mr. Walker looked as though he might cry. "Thank God you're all safe," he said softly.

"What of Mama?" Kitty whispered, her voice quavering.

Mr. Walker smiled grimly. "She is safe. She helped the Crane family into their cellar and then joined them, as did I."

"What of the others? Mr. Nicholson? The Coins? Mrs. Clack?" Now it was Ivy's turn to speak, her voice stronger than Kitty's but still weak.

Mr. Walker shook his head. "It is much too soon to know, Ivy. No one has made anything more than a preliminary search. However, only select doors remain standing; most are in shreds."

A wail, this time very human, echoed through the village. The shaken group gathered the courage to step outside, and soon discovered the source of the noise. A mother, the darkness prevented her identification, leant over her son, who was, at the least, severely wounded.

_Mother_, Lucius thought, his face going white. He finally, reluctantly, let go of Ivy's hand, but not before he gave her one last reassuring squeeze. He rushed to his home, forging through the wreckage of their front porch, and passed through the doorway. "Mother?" he whispered, and was suddenly overtaken by a strong, desperate hug.

His mother sobbed into his shoulder, running the fingers of one hand through his hair. "Why did you leave me, Lucius? Rushing off like that...I thought you'd gone mad!"

Lucius flushed, ashamed to have so thoughtlessly put Ivy before his mother. He could not bear to tell her the truth. "Forgive me, but I rushed to help our friends and neighbors lock and bar their doors. I ended near the Walker home and they let me stay with them. I...I wished to come home, but the creatures were too numerous to risk my return."

His mother released him and began to dry her eyes. He offered her his handkerchief, which she wordlessly accepted. "I forgive you, Lucius. Truth be told, my disapprobation would have increased if you had dared risk coming home during such an attack."

He smiled, but quickly stopped as more sounds of mourning began to haunt the village. Lucius hugged his mother one last time and ran to help those in need.


End file.
